Friday, September 24, 2010

What is the 21st Century Mission for Our Public Schools?September 24, 2010, 3:00-5:00 p.m.Russell Library Auditorium, UGA

Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, a civic engagement program of the Russell Library hosts community deliberative forums on a monthly basis to explore challenging public issues in a deliberative, civil way.About this month’s forum on public education…This month’s informal forum discussion asks us to consider what the 21st century mission of public schools should be. From the very start, Americans have held widely divergent views on issues related to public schools. Many of these have to do with the methods by which we achieve an educated society. Key questions related to this issue include:

• How do we ensure that our schools are accessible to all children?• By what means do we hold students accountable for learning and schools accountable forteaching them?• What is the role of families in the education of their children?• What is the responsibility of schools in addressing social issues that affect their students?• What is the most efficient and fair way to fund public education?

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. This short document not only recites personal liberties but also lays out the basic functions and structures of government. The event that launched the first experiment in self-governance is now celebrated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. This is the foundation for Congress Week, a national initiative of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress.Right: Russell staff members showing their love for Congress Week!

This week, across the country, congressional papers and public policy centers like the Russell Library are celebrating this first Congress Week observance. It is the intent of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress (ACSC) to promote a greater understanding of the Legislative branch of government – critical in the checks and balances outlined in the Constitution. Congress, often the object of scorn, distrust, and low scores in opinion polls, is also poorly understood by the American electorate. This coordinated effort at public programming will highlight the functions, relationships, structures, and limitations of the largest elected body in the land.

The ACSC, in promoting the study of Congress, has identified themes for Congress Week that invite exploration, discussion, and discovery. We believe the work of Congress cannot be fully appreciated without a forum for civil discourse. Our goals are to encourage civic engagement, inform the community and promote active participation in the political process. In keeping with the notion that “all politics is local,” ACSC encourages it members to tailor Congress Week events to their own resources and audiences.

The 2010 Congress Week Theme, Main Street to Capitol Hill, is about relationships constituents have with their delegation. Constituents range from the individual citizen and grass roots, single-issue interest groups to lobbyists representing state and local governments or industries and national political action committees. Constituents are everyone and anyone with a need or message to send to their congressional representatives.

Join the journey from Main Street to Capitol Hill! Passionate about an issue? Got an idea to fix gridlock or balance the budget? Explore the challenges and possibilities of representative government - take a moment this week to exercise your civic muscle and write your representative or pen an editorial for the local newspaper. Discover how to add historical gravitas to your prose, come by the Russell Library and check out over 40 congressional collections that cover tough public issues like health care, the economy, defense, education, and more. Discuss the issues - get civic by participating in one of the monthly community forums offered by the Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, a civic engagement initiative at the Russell Library. September’s forum topic is the 21st Century Mission of Public Education and will take place on September 24th at 3 p.m. in the Russell auditorium.

The Russell research room and the Russell Exhibit Gallery are open Monday-Friday from 8:30AM-4:30PM. For more information, call 706-542-5788 or email russlib@uga.edu.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

What is the 21st Century Mission for Our Public Schools?September 24, 2010, 3:00-5:00 p.m.Russell Library Auditorium, UGA

Russell Forum for Civic Life in Georgia, a civic engagement program of the Russell Library hosts community deliberative forums on a monthly basis to explore challenging public issues in a deliberative, civil way.About this month’s forum on public education…This month’s informal forum discussion asks us to consider what the 21st century mission of public schools should be. From the very start, Americans have held widely divergent views on issues related to public schools. Many of these have to do with the methods by which we achieve an educated society. Key questions related to this issue include:

• How do we ensure that our schools are accessible to all children?• By what means do we hold students accountable for learning and schools accountable forteaching them?• What is the role of families in the education of their children?• What is the responsibility of schools in addressing social issues that affect their students?• What is the most efficient and fair way to fund public education?

A Different Kind of Talk… In this community forum we will explore this complex issue by working together to understand the issue better. With help from trained neutral moderators we will look at several possible approaches to crafting a 21st century mission for public education and consider both the benefits and consequences of each approach, as well as possible trade-offs. Finally, we will explore possible actions that might make a positive difference in our community. Throughout the forum we may find some areas of agreement among us, just as we will likely clarify areas where our beliefs and perspectives differ greatly. This robust and civil threshing of the tough public issues that we face is the foundation for vibrant and resilient community.

How to Find the Russell Library (Parking, Bus access, walking)The Russell Library is located in the University of Georgia Main Library Building just off South Jackson Street in Athens, GA. Parking is available in the North Campus Parking Deck also on South Jackson St. Athens Transit and UGA Bus Service both serve the main library via the bus boarding zone on South Jackson Street.

The Russell Library maintains its own entrance on the West side of the Main Library building. Follow the path/steps down the right side of the main library building (the west facing side) and down the stairs to access our door. If you need handicapped access, please go to the main entrance of the Library and check in at the security desk.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Last year my colleague Jill Severn and I embarked on a new outreach experience – the Adopt-A-Class program. This is a relatively new program which brings Athens area business people into local middle schools to promote career education and development.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – since when is the Russell Library a “business”? Well, it isn’t exactly a traditional business, but it certainly has products and services and patrons, and is part of UGA. In addition to the Russell Library, there are representatives from lots of departments and programs at UGA that participate in AAC that reflect the innumerable kinds of jobs within a University community. The purpose of these visits, which happen once a month over the course of the school year is to introduce 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to a variety of career possibilities that they might not have heard of before. Through these interactions, the students learn that much of what they learn inside the classroom does have a real world application and, maybe even more importantly, that interests and talents in subjects at school can translate into a career after graduation from high school, college, or beyond.

What do we do in our hour long presentation for 6th grade classes at Athens-Clarke Middle School? Jill and I have developed a presentation that helps the students consider what it will take to obtain their “dream job.” We tell them a bit about what we do – which can be complicated to explain, as “archivist” (believe it or not) is not a traditional career path that the average middle-schooler is familiar with. We talk a bit about what we dreamed of doing at age 11 – lawyer, writer, veterinarian, actress, astronaut. And then we tell them about how we found out we loved history but didn’t want to teach in a classroom or do research full time. And then bam! We sort of used our likes and dislikes to find a career path we love that involves things we’re good at and enjoy doing. In addition to all the good, we’re also pretty frank about the pay scale – so we deliberate the tradeoffs that we face in our own work

After the overview (which likely takes less time to say than it did for you to read here) we use a dream job handout to help the students explore some basic questions about the job they hope to have. What will a typical day be like in this profession? Will you work with others or alone? Inside or outside? How much money would you expect to make? How much education do you need to be successful in this career? We ask for individual volunteers to tell the class about the career they’ve chosen and their answers for some of the questions on the sheet – usually with help from their classmates. Almost always, you can see light bulbs turn on in the room – realizations about what having that job might mean, what some of the benefits and tradeoffs might be.

The most popular dream job for students is that of a professional athlete (soccer/baseball/football/basketball) – especially among the young men in the room. As facilitators in this discussion, we encourage this interest, but also make sure to challenge some notions about becoming a professional athlete – particularly what happens if you become injured or just retire after a standard number of years (5-10) and are still looking to engage in a profession. We use the deliberative dialogue approaches we use with the Russell forum to help students weigh the tradeoffs and explore alternatives. We get them to consider what else can they could do that is related to sports if and when they can’t play anymore? And more light bulbs come on – coach, announcer, reporter, team owner, physical therapist, nutritionist...the list goes on and on once they get going. We like to think the key is just to help them start asking the right questions that connect their interests to the future, and end by giving suggestions for where to look for more information. Naturally, we promote visiting the local library! As well as shadowing, using search engines to browse, and asking their teachers and school administrators for advice on where to look next.

This past Tuesday (8/31) was our first session in our second year of Adopt-A-Class. We walked into the classroom with more confidence than last year and, as always, we walked out with a sense of accomplishment. We met future professional athletes, a future lawyer, a future FBI agent, a future fashion designer, a future paleontologist, and several future teachers, but alas no future archivists…yet! We have tweaked and tailored our presentation over the course of the year, but are still looking for new ways to engage with these students – whom we only see once during the year (a different 6th grade class each visit). We journey onward, but if anyone has creative ideas for career development in this setting, or you want more information about the Adopt-A-Class program, send us a note at russlib@uga.edu.

About This Blog

This blog features news and information on the activities of the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at UGA. Watch this space or subscribe to our feed for regular updates on new collections, exhibitions, projects, and programs, as described by the dedicated members of our staff! If you have questions or comments, please email jlevinso@uga.edu.

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